The power of the Iowa wrestling team was apparent right out of the gate. Iowa once again got a pin from All American Spencer Lee and they were off to the races.
That was on display culminated on Sunday as the top ranked Iowa wrestling team dominated Illinois on the mat, 36-6.
As usual, Iowa got off to a fantastic start thanks to the trio at the top of the lineup. Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, and Jaydin Eiermann got the Hawkeyes going with a pair of pins and a major decision to put Iowa on top 19-0 after three matches.
Lee once again picked up a in the first period and then DeSanto manufactured an 18-6 major decision. Then Eiermann caught #13 ranked Dylan Duncan in a cradle and got the pin. On the day, Iowa ended with four pins as heavyweight Tony Cassioppi, who is ranked 3rd in the country and coming off a loss last week at Minnesota, got a cradle of his own on #5 ranked Luke Luffman for the pin to wrap up the meet.
Iowa wrestled without top ranked 165 pounder Alex Marinelli on Sunday. The senior was sidelined due to Covid-19 protocols and will be out of the lineup for 17 days, according to Tom Brands. He was replaced by sophomore Joe Kelly, who suffered Iowa’s first loss of the meet 10-6. Iowa’s only other defeat on Sunday was at 184 pounds where Nelson Brands fe1l in sudden victory to #11 ranked Zach Braunagel, 3-1.
The Hawkeyes also picked up victories at 149 by Max Murin, 3-1 over #8 ranked Michael Carr. Kaleb Young secured a major decision at 157 with a 13-4 victory. #1 ranked Michael Kemerer picked up a 7-1 victory and Jacob Warner pulled up a hard fought 4-0 win.
Overall, Iowa outscored Illinois 71-29 and had a massive 23-5 edge in takedowns.
“I think you are seeing a lot of bonus points and that is a tribute to our guys,” Tom Brands said. “The philosophy has been there. We had three falls today and those are important and send a message.”
Iowa will be back on the mat on February 7th when they travel to Purdue for a triangular meet at Purdue. Iowa will face the #19 Boilermakers and #11 Ohio State. The meet against Ohio State begins at 1 p.m and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Not start time for the Purdue meet has been announced.
#1 IOWA 36, #9 Illinois 6
125 #1 Spencer Lee (IA) pinned #13 Justin Cardani (ILL), 2:27; 6-0
133 #5 Austin DeSanto (IA) major dec. #23 Lucas Byrd (ILL), 18-6; 10-0
141 #1 Jaydin Eierman (IA) pinned #13 Dylan Duncan (ILL), 6:08; 16-0
149 #6 Max Murin (IA) dec. #8 Michael Carr (ILL), 3-1; 19-0
157 #7 Kaleb Young (IA) major dec. Johnny Mologousis (ILL), 13-4; 23-0
165 Luke Odom (ILL) dec. Joe Kelly (IA), 10-6; 23-3
174 #1 Michael Kemerer (IA) major dec. #26 D.J. Shannon (ILL), 10-2; 27-3
184 #11 Zach Braunagel (ILL) dec. #6 Nelson Brands (IA); 3-1 SV1; 27-6
197 #3 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. #24 Matt Wroblewski (ILL), 4-0; 30-6
285 ##3 Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned #5 Luke Luffman (ILL), 4:30; 36-6
133 Cullan Schriever (IA) major dec. We Rachal (ILL), 22-9
149 Christian Kanzler (ILL) dec. Cobe Siebrecht (IA), 5-4
174 Patrick Kennedy (IA) dec. Trey Sizemore (ILL), 8-3
197 Isaiah Pettigrew (ILL) dec. Connor Corbin (ILL), 3-2
